Five Xaverian College students have taken part in a four-day NCC Group Cyber Security Work Experience programme, gaining a hands-on insight into the world of cyber security and boosting their employability skills along the way.
Alina Noor, Abdul Shaik, Patrick Mannion, Alina Omelchenko and Tolu Obadero spent the week at NCC’s Manchester office, hosted by the Technical Assurance Services (TAS) team. The programme combined interviews, presentations and practical workshops designed to build both technical knowledge and communication skills.
Students tackled a wide range of practical challenges covering different cyber security disciplines. These included open-source intelligence (OSINT) challenges, hardware hacking with rubber duckies, reverse engineering, web application security, ethical hacking and penetration testing. A particular highlight was social engineering, where students explored the psychological manipulation techniques cybercriminals use to trick people into making security mistakes, revealing sensitive data or granting unauthorised access to systems and networks.
By working with real-world challenges and industry tools, students gained a genuine understanding of how cyber security works in practice, along with the career opportunities the sector has to offer. The experience also helped develop valuable soft skills, including teamwork, problem-solving and professional communication, all of which will serve them well beyond the world of cyber security.
Alina Omelchenko, one of the students who took part, said the experience exceeded her expectations, commenting: “The whole work experience was very engaging, and the support we got along the way was really useful. It is a very good opportunity and, even if a student isn’t interested in cyber security directly, it’s still an incredible experience to have on your CV.”
For Abdul Shaik, the week opened his eyes to a career path he hadn’t previously considered. He said: “It was great, I didn’t really consider a career in cyber security before, but it was interesting and is now a potential pathway. I might not apply for the associate programme, as I am still weighing up my options, but I would recommend work experience to other students without hesitation.”
David Law, Computer Science Teacher, said he was delighted to see students engage so fully with the experience: “It was fantastic to see our students step outside the classroom and get a genuine feel for what a career in cyber security actually involves. Opportunities like this are invaluable, not just for building technical knowledge, but for helping students see what’s possible and giving them the confidence to pursue it.”
Given the success of the programme, Xaverian College hopes to continue the partnership next academic year, giving another cohort of students the chance to experience cyber security first-hand.